Antioxidants are crucial if you want to expand your health. Fortunately many of the foods that you can find at the supermarket produce aisle, your local health food store and farmer’s market are overloaded with healthy antioxidants.

Our bodies necessitate oxygen for the processes of life. However, whenever oxygen is used it creates oxygen free radicals, which is a molecule that is lacking an electron. This lack of electron makes it tremendously variable and potentially injurious to our bodies. Free radicals contribute to inflammation, which is a cause for most ailments from critical things like heart disease and cancer to the less severe but still upsetting wrinkles and gray hair. An antioxidant will stabilize a free radical by donating the missing electron, thereby reducing inflammation.

The antioxidants in food are calculated by how well they can deactivate free radicals in a test tube. This is referred to as the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity or ORAC. A number is assigned referring to its ORAC levels, the higher the number, the higher the antioxidant ability of the food.

Two great foods that attain some of the maximum ORAC levels of all concrete foods are the acai berry from the rainforests of Brazil, and dried, unsweetened cocoa. Dark chocolate that is at least 60 to 70 % cocoa is truly one of the most nourishing foods on earth, not to mention one of the most delicious and satisfying.

Acai berries are just as delightful. A lot of people depict the taste as something akin to a delectable berry dipped in dark chocolate. You can find acai berry products that are juices, smoothie mixes and even tablets and capsules. The acai berry is extremely perishable so it is not possible to have the fresh fruit outside of Brazil. However, it is lucky that advanced processing methods have made this little berry obtainable worldwide.

Another luscious way to get a nourishing dose of antioxidants is through red wine. Red wine has a high concentration of anthocyanins, which is an important antioxidant. Anthocyanins is essentially the deep purple pigment is such foods as blueberries and red grapes. One glass of red wine every day can offer you a vast benefit when it comes to antioxidant content, however, over consumption of wine can cause problems just as with any alcoholic beverage.

Even though red wine is high in anthocyanins, the acai berry actually has 10 to 30 times the amount of this imperative antioxidant. Anthocyanins have been proven to be valuable for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and even for potential weight loss in certain studies.

You can get acai berry products as a smoothie mix, delicious juices and even capsules and pills. Eat some acai berry product every day, add in 1 ounce of high quality, dark chocolate and loosen up with one glass of red wine and you will have received a nourishing dose of fundamental antioxidants.

While it is not a miracle food the acai berry can still be an incredible addition to your healthy diet. The nutrients contained within this astonishing berry can protect your body from damage from free radicals, which in turn will help prevent diseases and it will help your weight loss efforts because of the outstanding nutritional advantages.